1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hinge for mounting a door on a frame of an article of furniture such as a cabinet or desk with a first hinge member adapted to be mounted to a door and a second hinge member being adapted to be mounted on the frame. The second hinge member is in the form of a hinge arm having a first end pivoted to the first hinge member and a second end being adapted to be mounted to the frame, the second end has first and second flanges disposed at a right angle to each other to abut first and second sides of the frame when in the mounted position, a fastening screw is received in an opening of the second flange and extends parallel to the first flange, whereby a threaded section of the fastening screw protrudes from the second flange.
2. Description of the prior art
Various types of hinges for mounting a door on a frame of a piece of furniture have been used in the furniture and cabinet industry. One such device is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,706 whereby a hinge arm is mounted on a mounting plate which has U-shaped configuration with two side flanges and a middle flange whereby a fastening screw protrudes through an elongated opening in the middle flange said fastening screw securing the mounting plate of the hinge to the frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,364 shows a hinge with a fastening screw pre-mounted in the hinge arm mounting plate.
General purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved hinge for mounting a door on a frame of an article of furniture such as a cabinet or desk which provides for mounting of the hinge arm on the frame without the necessity of drilling a hole for the fastening screw into the frame.
According to the invention this is achieved by the length L of the first side flange in a direction perpendicular to the second flange being greater than the length l of the protruding part of the fastening screw.
Because the length of the first flange is longer than the length of the fastening screw protruding from the second flange when mounting the hinge on the frame, the hinge arm with the second flange can abut against the side of the frame before the tip of the screw comes into contact with the frame, thereby facilitating the positioning of the hinge arm. When the fastening screw, which is held in the second flange of the hinge arm is a self-tapping screw, it can easily be screwed into the frame also when there is no pre-drilled hole for the fastening screw.
According to a preferred embodiment the opening for the fastening screw is an elongated opening having elongated rims the threaded section of the fastening screw being co-operatively engaged by said rims and the fastening screw has a head and an unthreaded shaft section extending between the head and the threaded shaft section over a distance that is greater then the thickness of the second flange.
This embodiment makes it possible to adjust the position of the hinge in the direction of the height of the frame over the length of the elongated opening if such a correction proves to be necessary.